Wheel actuated treadle for railway signaling systems



July 19, 1938. A BROWN 2,124,340

WHEEL AQTI'UATED TREADLE FOR RAILWAY SIGNALING SYSTEMS Filed Sept. 26, 1956 *6 I 7 v a y I 7 I I K ,III Ca/vmcra OPENED I 64 M019 a ewzp 5y x/e'n vr fizz-A94: I 5y 4/6/17 TREADLE Com mm BY Z,

. ATTORNEY Patented July 19 1938 ATENT OFFICE} 1 si 2,124,340 7' "WHEEL AcTUA'rED Tam-meme R ILWAY" SIGNALING SYSTEMS v mam 6 Claims.

This invention relates to the arrangement of treadles to be operated by the wheels of a train in order that the number of wheels entering and leaving a given track section may be automatically counted for the purpose of controlling the signals.

It is necessary that treadles that cause the sending of impulses to the counting apparatus should be capable of rapid movement in order that contacts controlled thereby should be properly opened and closed for each wheel of a train travelling at high speed. If the treadlesare light enough to respond correctly to wheels travelling at a high speed they may be operated accidentally by platelayers or others working on or tray ersing the track. On the other hand a treadle which requires so much force 'to depress it that it cannot be. operated otherwise than-by the passage of a wheel of a train may not count correctly the successive passage at high speed of a -'number of wheels.

Heavy treadles of'various forms are already used in such a mannerlthat on being depressed by-the wheels of a train they operate contacts in an electric circuit although these treadles do not restore sufliciently' quickly to control wheel counting contacts.

According to the present inventionl arrange 1 electrically in parallel with the wheel counting contacts, contacts operated by a heavy treadle placed in such position as to be depressed by the .wheels of a train whenever thewheel counting contacts are beingoperated.

I prefer to arrange both'the heavy treadle and the treadle operating the wheel counting contacts parallel with the track and to arrange a heavy treadle on the'inside of one running rail and to counting treadle on the inside of the other running rail of the same track opposite the mid- I dle portion of the heavy treadle.

Both treadles may control normally made contacts connected in parallel in the electric circuit effecting the counting. When a train wheel is passing over the heavy treadle the contacts controlled thereby are open, and the opening and closing of the counting contacts are 'operative to control the counting circuits. It is not necessary that the heavy treadle should maintain its contacts open after it has been depressed by the first wheel of a trainuntil the last wheel passes over it; it is only necessary that its contacts should remain open until after the re-closing of the counting contacts succeeding the passage of a wheel over the counting treadle. This will generally mean in practice that the heavy treadle Application September 26, 1936; Serial N0."102,707

, In GreatrBrltain October 28, 1935 I;

Andrew BrowmLondon, England, assignor to :In-

tcrmitional Standard Electric Corporation, 1

The single figureof the drawing illustrates dia-.

grammatically a signaling system embodying my invention. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawing reference numeral I indicates the normally made contacts which are adapted to be opened by passage of train wheels over the heavyrtreadle 2, and 3 indicates the normally made contacts which are adapted to be opened by simultaneous passage of train wheels over the light, counting treadle t; The two sets of contacts are connected electrically in parallel to counting apparatus 5 by means of wires 6, 'l and 8, 9.

The apparatus is located between rails l0 and H, shown in broken cross section. Projections l2 and It on treadles Zandll, respectively, raise the operating base of these treadles into position to enable the wheels of passing trains to operate both treadles and opencontacts I and 3.

What is claimed is: f

1. An arrangement of treadles in a track way for operating an electric circuit to count the wheels of a train passing thereover, comprising two contacts connected in parallel in said circuit, a counting treadle arranged in said track way and adapted to be depressedand released.

for each wheel passing thereover for operating one of said contacts, and a slow acting treadle depressed by the passage of a wheel thereover for operating the other contact, said slow acting treadle being so arranged relative to said counting treadle as to bedepres'sed Whenever the counting treadle is being operated.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which both treadles are arranged parallel to adjacent running rails of the same track.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which the contacts controlled by both treadles are normally closed and are opened when a wheel passes over the corresponding treadle.

4. An arrangement of treadles for operating arranged in said track way and adapted'to be thereover, and a slow return treadle arranged in 7 said course for controlling said other contact, said slow return treadle being so arranged in; the course of the vehicle as to'be depressed whenever said counting treadle is being operated.

5.oAn arrangement as claimed in claim 4, in which the contacts controlled by both treadles are normally closed and are arranged to be opened by passage of a wheel over the corresponding treadle.

6. An arrangement of treadles for operating an electric circuit to count the wheels of a train passing over a given track section, comprising a counting treadle arranged relative to said track in the course of said train for depression and release by each'wheel passing thereover, counting contacts controlled by said counting treadle a slow return treadle arranged relative to said track section in the course of said train and positioned relative to said counting treadle so as to be simultaneously depressed therewith upon'passage of eachsaid Wheel, and contacts connected in parallel with said counting contacts controlled by said slow return treadle, whereby saidlast named contacts will be open whenever said counting contacts are operated by a train.

' V ANDREW BROWN. 

